Content reviewed by:
Alex Shulman
Questions about rehabilitation, income, and independence can arise before you have had time to process a spinal cord injury. Working with a Poughkeepsie spinal cord injury lawyer can help you understand how a personal injury claim may address both immediate expenses and future needs.
At Shulman & Hill, we can help you examine whether someone else’s negligence contributed to your injury. Our personal injury lawyer in Poughkeepsie can discuss how these issues apply to your circumstances.
Types of Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries are classified based on the location of the damage and the degree to which function is affected below the injury site. Understanding your specific injury type is important for building a claim that reflects the full scope of your losses.
Common types include:
- Complete spinal cord injury: All motor and sensory function below the injury site is permanently lost, leaving the victim with no movement or sensation in the affected areas.
- Incomplete spinal cord injury: Some degree of motor or sensory function is retained below the injury site, with outcomes varying widely depending on the severity and location of the damage.
- Tetraplegia (quadriplegia): Damage to the cervical region of the spine affects function in the arms, hands, trunk, legs, and pelvic organs, often requiring lifelong care.
- Paraplegia: Injury to the thoracic, lumbar, or sacral regions of the spine results in loss of function in the lower body, including the legs and pelvic organs.
- Central cord syndrome: The most common incomplete injury, this condition causes greater weakness in the arms than the legs and is frequently associated with hyperextension injuries.
- Anterior cord syndrome: Damage to the front of the spinal cord affects motor function and pain and temperature sensation while leaving some touch and position sense intact.
Common Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries in Poughkeepsie
Traffic collisions involving cars, trucks, motorcycles, pedestrians, or cyclists can cause trauma to the spine. A motor vehicle accident may involve more than one responsible party, depending on how it happened.
Falls are another potential cause, including falls on unsafe stairs, slippery walking surfaces, or construction sites. A property-related claim, often called a premises liability claim, generally requires more than showing that you fell and suffered an injury.
Our spinal cord injury lawyer in Poughkeepsie can review where the incident occurred in Poughkeepsie, who controlled the conditions, and which records or witnesses may help explain what went wrong.
What Are the Lifetime Care Costs of a Spinal Cord Injury in Poughkeepsie?
Spinal cord injuries are among the most financially devastating injuries a person can sustain, often requiring decades of continuous medical care, assistive equipment, and personal support services. A Poughkeepsie spinal cord injury lawyer can help you pursue compensation that accounts for every anticipated cost over the course of your lifetime.
The immediate costs following a spinal cord injury typically include emergency surgery, intensive care hospitalization, and acute rehabilitation, which alone can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Ongoing expenses such as home health aides, wheelchair-accessible housing modifications, and specialized transportation add significantly to the financial burden year after year.
Lost earning capacity represents one of the most significant but often overlooked components of a spinal cord injury claim. Many victims are permanently unable to return to their prior occupation or any form of gainful employment, resulting in decades of lost wages and benefits.
Our Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer in Poughkeepsie Can Help You Determine Liability
In a spinal cord injury case based on negligence, you generally must establish that another party owed you a duty of care, failed to meet that duty, and caused your injuries and resulting losses. That connection matters even when the injuries are severe.
Responsibility may be shared among several parties. A commercial vehicle collision, for instance, could raise questions about both driving conduct and an employer’s responsibility for an employee’s actions or its own negligence. Identifying potentially responsible parties also allows an examination of available insurance coverage.
New York generally follows a pure comparative negligence rule for personal injury claims. This means that if you share fault, your compensation may be reduced by your percentage of responsibility rather than automatically barred. For your treatment, Vassar Brothers Medical Center and Burke Rehabilitation Hospital are two options you can choose from.
Compensation for Immediate and Future Losses
A spinal cord injury claim may seek compensation for reasonable medical expenses connected to the injury. Depending on the evidence, this can include hospitalization, rehabilitation, medications, assistive devices such as wheelchairs, and anticipated care.
Lost income is another potential part of a claim, including lost wages during treatment and recovery. If your injury limits the work you can perform, a claim may also address your reduced ability to earn income in the future, sometimes called loss of earning capacity.
Compensation may also address physical pain, emotional suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life, often described as non-economic damages.
Contact Our Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer in Poughkeepsie
You do not need to know your case’s full value before asking a Poughkeepsie spinal cord injury attorney for legal guidance. Founded in 2013, Shulman & Hill helps injured New Yorkers understand their legal options.
We can review the circumstances of your injury, identify potential sources of compensation, and explain what additional information may be needed.
For help with a spinal cord injury or another Poughkeepsie personal injury matter, contact us to discuss your options in a free consultation.